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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22381957">Maybe When the Stars Align</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcidNightmare/pseuds/AcidNightmare'>AcidNightmare</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Outer Worlds (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Happy Ending, M/M, One Shot, Overused Trope Alert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:28:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,593</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22381957</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcidNightmare/pseuds/AcidNightmare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An escort mission to find one of Hiram’s downed satellites turns into a rescue mission as a random earthquake blocks off passage through the northern caverns. The captain and his team are separated, leaving the captain to deal with Hiram on his own and depend on the combined ingenuity of the rest of the Unreliable crew to get them out. </p><p>They’re doomed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hiram Blythe/The Captain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Maybe When the Stars Align</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I’m so sorry, getting caught in a cave and being forced to share body heat is like my #1 trope, I couldn’t resist.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Message, cap.”</p><p>Nyoka’s voice called down from the higher deck, her boots loud on the grating as she crossed the floor to the ladder leading to the loading bay.</p><p>Cam grunted an acknowledgment but continued his set, trusting Nyoka to not wander off while he finished the last few reps of his workout. The crew had eventually learned during their time together to leave Cam to himself to work out his frustrations after particularly taxing missions or visits to Byzantine. There were only so many times that Cam could be talked down to by know-it-all scientists or Board members before he drifted back to his ship and wrapped his knuckles for a long session with his heavy bag.</p><p>Cam set down the weights, rising from his bench and kneading the burn in his muscles. He turned to face Nyoka, leaning bored against a storage bin, her arms crossed. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“My dear friend Hiram sent me a request.”</p><p>“This ought to be good.”</p><p>“Oh it is,” Nyoka nodded before picking Cam’s towel off the floor and throwing it over his shoulder. “I forwarded you the message but the gist is one of his satellites crashed somewhere out in the Monarch wildlands. It has a tracker, but he needs to hunt it down and see what’s salvageable before scrappers find it and gut it first.”</p><p>“So he needs us to find it and, what, bring it back?”</p><p>“That would be my guess. You’ve met Hiram, he has a bad habit of leaving out details and still assuming everyone’s on the same page as him.”</p><p>“Right.” Cam agreed, roughly scrubbing at the layer of sweat on his face and neck. “Well if nothing else he pays well so we can make it a priority. Do me a favor and tell Felix to be ready, we can head out after I’ve taken a shower.”</p><p>Nyoka made a face before turning away. “Doubt there’ll be any hot water, Ellie just got out.”</p><p>“Fucking A.”</p><p>…</p><p>Cam suffered through his cold shower and then they landed among the kaleidoscope of color of Monarch’s wildlands. Since she knew Hiram well and had been sent the message in the first place, Cam chose Nyoka to join him on the trek up to broadcast tower. He had chosen Felix to suit up as well for no other reason than that he loved watching him run (literally) headfirst into battle. Cam had made it known over the weeks the crew had traveled together that he appreciated people who enjoyed the heat of battle as much as he did.</p><p>Neither complained about the opportunity to get off the ship for a few hours and besides a few mechanical sentries and a lone raptidon, the walk to the tower remained uneventful.</p><p>At the entrance Nyoka buzzed at the intercom impatiently until the door unlocked, then lead their group up the stairs to where Hiram was working hunched over his computer, tools and papers scattered around him.</p><p>“Sorry I wasn’t expecting you so soon, Nyoka isn’t known for punctuality; I naturally assumed all her cohorts wouldn’t be either.”</p><p>Nyoka scowled in Hiram’s direction. “Let’s not start this day off on the wrong foot, Hiram.”</p><p>“Of course. Apologies.” Hiram flashed something that could be mistaken for a placating grin before he stood, gathering his work in a messy pile and abandoning it, turning to face the crew.</p><p>“So what exactly do you need us to do?” Cam crossed his arms and leaned against some large machine that beeped incessantly, fixing Hiram with a stare. “Something about recovering a satellite?”</p><p>“Yes and no. The satellite itself is probably destroyed beyond repair after being grounded. What I’d like to do is recover any components that are still functioning and try to figure out why it was knocked out of orbit. So If we wait too long marauders will find it and scrap it and not only will I lose the parts and the information, but I’ll never know why it was downed and that will just drive me crazy.”</p><p>“That’s funny; you saying ‘we’ like that makes it sound like you’re coming along.” Nyoka exhaled in laughter. “Now <i>that</i> would be crazy.”</p><p>Hiram rolled his eyes in obvious exasperation. “How else would you suggest I recover the components? It’s not like I can give you a list of what to look for. And once you see the size of the satellite you’ll understand why I can’t ask you to drag it back here. Realistically it only makes sense for me to go do it myself and for you all to escort me.”</p><p>Nyoka’s jaw dropped. “Captain, are you hearing this?”</p><p>Cam’s answer was an encouraging nod. “Makes sense to me. I don’t know jack shit about satellites and I’d rather not poke around blindly in a busted one; what I do know is how to kill mantisaurs. Do what you gotta do and we’ll get you there and back safe.”</p><p>“So pragmatic. That’s exactly why you’re my favorite man to hire.”</p><p>Nyoka groaned. “Ugh, at least get a room before you two start blowing each other.”</p><p>Hiram rolled his eyes again. “You’re just jealous because you’ve been relegated to supply runs.”</p><p>“Which I am very close to refusing to do since you’re such an ass to me. But I guess that’s no big deal now since I see you can actually leave your tower, so getting your own supplies should be a piece of cake.”</p><p>“Don’t be cruel Nyoka; I pay you far too well for that.”</p><p>Nyoka grunted. “Just about your only redeeming quality.”</p><p>...</p><p>Once Hiram had his knapsack packed with tools and supplies and who knows what else, they were on their way. The tower grew small behind them as they hiked, the terrain rocky and the wind picking up as they traveled into the more mountainous northern region.</p><p>“Wow. Never believed I’d see the day you left that tower of your own volition. Hey maybe this is a good step to getting you out in the real world.” Nyoka was teasing again, but it almost sounded impressed.</p><p>“Don’t hold your breath. We’re just going to the satellite and back, I have no desire to be outside any longer than I’m required to be.”</p><p>“Monarch seems an odd choice for a home if you’re the indoorsy type, you know.” Felix said from the rear of the group. “Seems like you’d feel more at home on someplace like Byzantine.”</p><p>Hiram sneered at the thought. “The only thing worse than the beasts on this planet are the two-faced elites with their heads up their own asses. I’ll take the chance of being eaten by a mantiqueen before setting foot in that city.”</p><p>Cam couldn’t help but smile at Hiram’s rant, his own thoughts on the Byzantine inhabitants lining up perfectly.</p><p>“So how far away is this satellite anyway? We’re getting close to another set of caverns, but I’d avoid them, they’re mostly dead-ends and abandoned mantisaur nests.”</p><p>Hiram handed over the tracker, the screen lit up with the blinking indicator overlaid on a map of the area. Nyoka hummed as she studied the device. “Looks to be a bit past the caverns at least, we can just go over them, that’d be the fastest route.”</p><p>Hiram waved away the tracker as Nyoka reached out to hand it back. “Lead on, I’ll defer to your knowledge of the land.”</p><p>Nyoka whistled, again impressed. “Today is certainly full of firsts.”</p><p>...</p><p>They continued on, the quiet between them mostly broken by Felix asking another meandering question or the tell-tale roar of an incoming raptidon. Cam had let Nyoka take the lead and ended up hiking next to Hiram, watching him out of the corner of his eye as the terrain turned more treacherous.</p><p>“So uh, what, do you have that thing where you’re afraid to leave your house?”</p><p>“You’re thinking of agoraphobia. And no I don’t, I’m perfectly capable of leaving the tower but why would I? The outside is hot, it smells, and it’s crawling with marauders and mantisaurs and all sorts of strange beasts,” Hiram continued, giving Cam a pointed glare. “Not all of us are built to fit in with the wildlife.”</p><p>“The build sure comes in handy when you want something, though.”</p><p>“You act like I don’t compensate you. I don’t know what else you’d want from me; I shower you in bits and my glowing praise.”</p><p>Cam grunted dismissively at the bite in Hiram’s voice, turning his attention back to picking his way gingerly around the scrubs of brush and sucking pools of sulfur.</p><p>“He’s got a point though. I thought you were shitting us when you decided to tag along. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in natural sunlight.” Nyoka laughed a little under her breath, dropping back to join the conversation and nudging Hiram with her elbow.</p><p>“Ugh, maybe the constant snide remarks give me some incentive to stay indoors.”</p><p>“You’d know as the king of snide remarks.”</p><p>Felix called back from where he had crested a hill, standing at the ledge and looking down over the valleys and hills below, shadows indicating the yawning entrances to the caverns, the sheer depth and enormity of them labyrinthine.</p><p>“This is going to be a bitch to cross.” Felix added once the others joined him on the ridge.</p><p>“It’ll be fine,” Nyoka said confidently. “Just watch your step and hope the ground is solid.”</p><p>“Oh is that all?” Hiram mumbled. “Very reassuring.”</p><p>“That’s what happens when you come into the real world.” Nyoka shot back as she jumped over the ledge, her landing sending shards of stone skittering down the hillside.</p><p>They picked their way slowly over the sloping terrain, avoiding the cavernous mouths of pits and the sledges of rock teetering by the cliff sides. Nyoka had naturally taken the lead again, Felix following like a puppy as she recalled a story about a hunt she’d been on previously that had brought her this far north. Cam could hear bits and pieces of the story, of how Nyoka and a few members of her Charon group had gotten lost in one of the caves for almost a week before finding a path back to the surface, the trail of the beast gone long cold to top off their troubles.</p><p>Cam fell back to hike next to Hiram, quietly watching as he picked his way over the rocks and scrub while the afternoon sun beat down on their shoulders. Cam could see the sweat at his temples as Hiram pushed his damp hair out of his eyes, and Cam couldn’t help but think he cut an incredibly striking figure, liking how he looked under something other than the washed out fluorescent lights of the tower.</p><p>Hiram caught his eye, but instead of his usual sarcastic line of questioning, he looked a little flustered; enough so that he tripped over a root poking from the ground and would have gone sprawling had Cam not reached out to catch him.</p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>And Hiram looked even more embarrassed, his cheeks darkening noticeably as he looked down to see Cam’s broad hand wrapped around his forearm, holding him steady. Then he nodded, mouthing his thanks.</p><p>A moment passed between them then, something quiet and understated and Cam felt a flicker of something warm in his gut only to be interrupted by a rumbling groan erupting from the ground below them.</p><p>Cam barely got out a ‘what the fuck was that,’ before the ground began to shake, the rocks and dirt around them tumbling down the hillsides.</p><p>“Cap, move!” Nyoka’s voice screeched from further up the mountainside where she and Felix were crouched against the ground clinging to one another to weather the quake. Cam saw the reason for her warning as several boulders dislodged from further up the hill to roll in their direction.</p><p>Cam could see the avalanche of rocks barreling toward them and let his instincts take over, feeling time slow as he tugged on Hiram’s arm, yanking him into the closest cave and pressing him hard against a depression in the wall as the boulders slammed against the entrance behind them. Cam clutched Hiram close, feeling the panicked rise and fall of his chest against his own as the rumbling continued. He prayed the roof wouldn’t cave-in and protected Hiram as best he could from the rocks shaken loose above them until one last powerful quake knocked them both off their feet. Cam went sprawling across the ground, losing sight of Hiram as the avalanche of rocks covered the entrance wholly and blew clouds of choking brown dust into the air. Cam struggled to his knees as the aftershocks slowly waned and his heartbeat returned to a normal pulse.</p><p>When the dust from the air finally cleared, Cam took a good look at his surroundings with what little light filtered in through the fissures on the cave ceiling the earthquake had created. The cave was large and appeared thankfully empty, no hoard of mantisaurs swarming as the dust settled. Hiram was sprawled on the ground, but his frustrated groan and the way he rubbed his ass where he’d landed on it hard hinted more at irritation than actual injury.</p><p>Cam crawled closer, settling on his haunches in front of Hiram. “You okay?”</p><p>Hiram sat up eye level with Cam. “Miraculously still in one piece. Thanks to you.”</p><p>“Shit, shit, shit,” Nyoka’s panicked voice drifted in through the cracks between the rocks. “Cap? Hiram? Please be alive.”</p><p>Cam stood, cautiously approaching the fallen rock, pebbles and sandy grit still tumbling down its face.</p><p>“We’re fine, just a little worse for wear.” Cam looked over to see Hiram rising slowly to his feet. He watched a second too long as Hiram rubbed his hips before turning his attention back to Nyoka on the other side of the rock slide. “Bigger question is how the hell are we getting out of here?”</p><p>Cam took a second look at what he could see of the surrounding cavern. The walls were dark and covered with the sprawling twisted roots of the plants on the surface and the ground sloped downward in the direction of the back of the cave where the walls disappeared into a pitch black pit, a waft of stale cold air emerging from the depths. Cam took a few steps toward the inky abyss, squinting in the low light.</p><p>“Doesn’t look like we’ll get too far this way. Not unless Nyoka can give us a map or directions.” Cam returned to the entrance, calling for Nyoka. “Any chance of digging us out? What’s it look like on your end?”</p><p>“Yeah, about that,” Nyoka trailed off only for Felix to pick up her line of thought.</p><p>“It’s pure rock. Everything is sealed up as far as we can see.”</p><p>“Well I hope that doesn’t mean you just plan on leaving us down here.”</p><p>“Well no,” Nyoka answered distractedly. “It just means you need to give us some time to think.”</p><p>“Seems like we have little else but time down here.” Hiram grumbled, sinking down into a squat to check on his knapsack and its contents.</p><p>Nyoka couldn’t help her snort of relieved laughter. “Now that’s the spirit.”</p><p>Felix called through the crack in the rock, his voice carrying down to Cam and Hiram’s tomb.</p><p>“Don’t worry captain, you’ve got the best minds on monarch devising a plan to get you out.”</p><p>Hiram looked up, catching Cam’s eye. “Does he mean himself?”</p><p>Cam nodded slowly.</p><p>Hiram sighed. “We’re gonna die down here.”</p><p>From the other side of the solid rock Cam could hear Nyoka and Felix arguing, both throwing out ideas and shooting one another down. Literally shooting, as well. Cam heard the ricochet of several bullets on the rock as well as the dull roar of Nyoka’s flamethrower, heat puffing in through the crevice. The rock wall continued standing though and it was silent for a long while before Felix’s frustrated voice traveled through the crack.</p><p>“We’ve been thinking and we feel it would be best to go get some help, boss. Maybe the rest of the crew will have some better ideas.”</p><p>“Really,” Hiram muttered, “I can’t believe shooting it didn’t work.”</p><p>Cam shushed him before leaning against the wall, speaking so his voice would carry out to Felix. “Understood, just make sure you ask ADA, too. She might think of something you guys don’t consider.”</p><p>“Can do, cap. Stay safe in there while we’re gone. I wouldn’t recommend wandering too much.”</p><p>Once Cam turned back to him, Hiram sighed, sounding more than a little melodramatic to Cam’s ears.</p><p>“So it sounds like we’re going to be stuck here for a while. Does this,” Hiram gestured wildly to the air around them “sort of situation happen often to you?”</p><p>“You’d be surprised,” Cam grunted, kneeling down to his pack. “This doesn’t even scratch the surface of weird shit that’s happened to me. Sounds like you’re not doing your job very well if you don’t have a wealth of information on me, broker.”</p><p>Hiram scoffed, looking around their little cave for a moment before finding a flat rock to perch on. “I’m not a stalker. I know the basics, who you are and what Phineas wants with you. I’ve also heard rumors out of Groundbreaker and Terra-2 of your accomplishments, some more successful than others. So yes I know more than your average citizen, but no, that means I do not know your favorite serial, or your favorite food, or that apparently you and your crew constantly get into ridiculously dumb situations.”</p><p>“What would you call the situation I resolved for you, then?”</p><p>Hiram rolled his eyes and crossed his leg, leaning on his palms. “That was fate bringing us together. The universe saw I needed an unscrupulous smart-ass to do my dirty work for me, and then you basically fell out of the sky.”</p><p>Cam made a dismissive noise. “You say a lot of shit for being stuck helpless in a cave with me.”</p><p>Hiram shrugged then unzipped his pack, pulling out two bottles of wine, holding one between his knees and offering Cam the other. “Well, it could be worse.”</p><p>Cam stared, his brow furrowed. “You brought two bottles of wine on a half day hike to find a satellite? Are you an alcoholic?”</p><p>“Don’t sell me short, functional alcoholic at least; but yes I brought some because I didn’t know what state that satellite was going to be in. If there was a chance to salvage it, well, I work best when I’ve had a few drinks.”</p><p>Hiram shrugged like that wasn't dysfunctional and Cam stared hard, unimpressed.</p><p>“I’ll appreciate a little less judgment,” Hiram shifted uncomfortably. “Everyone on this planet has their own way to cope. Be it wine, stims, or hell, getting a hate fuck from someone in the opposing faction.”</p><p>Cam blinked in surprise, a strange dark feeling swirling in his gut at the thought of some random Iconoclast or MSI agent hate fucking Hiram, leaving him used and bruised. The ebbing feeling curdled into an emotion Cam wasn’t willing to give voice to quite yet. He brushed off his discomfort by ignoring it completely. “That last one sounded pretty specific, we can wait around for Max if you have some confessing you need to do.”</p><p>Hiram scoffed, looking disgusted.</p><p>“Hardly. Just because I know the dirty secrets of everyone on this planet, I at no point want to be involved in them.” Hiram sighed before his gaze softened, inquisitive rather than defensive. “Just bringing it up as an example. You telling me you don’t have any vices to help get you through a rough day?”</p><p>“Maybe I smoke.” Cam admitted, positive he looked uncomfortable as he decided how much of his past he wanted to reveal to Hiram. His exploits since reaching Halcyon were well known and bordering on infamous, but his entire life on Earth was still a mystery to his fellow colonists, even still to his crew. He exhaled before taking the plunge.</p><p>“But my real vice was gambling. Poker, blackjack, roulette, anything really.” Cam started, green eyes pointed downward and his fingers itching for something to fidget with, anything to get his mind off the fact he was spilling his guts to Hiram of his own volition. “On Earth I had a job as security for a casino and I would play every night after work. It was okay for a while, I won enough to keep me in the black and keep me coming back. But then suddenly it wasn’t enough. So I bet higher and higher and got further and further in the hole. It got to the point where I needed to take out some rather... shady loans, and then it didn’t matter, I was in debt to the wrong people. I didn’t have much in the way of options so I decided to run. Well, I guess escape would be the better word.”</p><p>Hiram hummed, giving Cam a critical look.</p><p>“You got so far in debt your only choice was to leave the planet? They were going to kill you?”</p><p>“Wouldn’t be the first time someone had been killed over money so I wasn’t going to give them the chance.”</p><p>“You must have been desperate.”</p><p>“I prefer to think of it as an involuntary opportunity.” Cam deadpanned.</p><p>Hiram couldn’t help the bark of laughter. “That’s a hell of a positive spin. Nonetheless you’re here and alive. And I assume anyone out to get you is fifty years dead. So I suppose it was the right choice all things considered.”</p><p>Hiram cracked open his bottle, tipping back a healthy mouthful and swallowing. “So just be appreciative I’m sharing and quit being a judgmental prick.” But the demand had no teeth and the corners of Hiram’s mouth were turned up since Cam had put them on even footing.</p><p>Cam grunted in response, but sat down heavily next to Hiram, opening his own bottle to catch up. Once the warmth of the alcohol relaxed Cam he let himself watch Hiram in his periphery, his eyes lingering on long fingers wrapped around the neck of the bottle and the restless bounce of Hiram’s knee.</p><p>“Now that I think about it, that was an odd earthquake, usually they last longer.” Hiram mused aloud, taking another long drink.</p><p>“You know, a man in Amber Heights told me a story, said he spent some time at the Hot Pole and one time he got the idea to put his ear to the ground and listen. Swore he heard tapping, like a bird trying to break out of its shell. Said he thinks about that every time there’s a quake now.”</p><p>Hiram stopped drinking, eyebrows raised as he caught Cam’s eyes.</p><p>“And I bet he was a few drinks deep when he spun that yarn for you.” Hiram laughed, stretching out his legs in front of him casually. “Wouldn’t that be just our luck though if this moon was actually an egg for some celestial beast?”</p><p>“Well it would certainly put a few other of my problems in this solar system into perspective.”</p><p>“That it would.” Hiram chuckled again, watching Cam for a moment before dropping his eyes, a small secretive smile on his lips. Cam didn’t pry, and they continued to drink together in peace, the air between them warm and companionable.</p><p>A couple hours passed as the two waited for Cam’s crew to return. Cam ventured a little further into the cave, but with the sun setting and the cave completely devoid of materials to make a fire, Cam’s small flashlight barely made a dent in the overwhelming void of darkness leading further into the planet. Hiram watched from his perch, savoring his wine as he watched Cam’s slow exploration.</p><p>Cam rejoined him, dropping heavily against the rock, their thighs touching as Cam scoot back to rest his back against the wall.</p><p>“Well let’s hope they come up with something good because the back of this cave does not look promising.”</p><p>Hiram hummed in agreement before he shifted against the wall causing their shoulders to touch as well. Cam couldn’t tell if it was an accident or on purpose.</p><p>“Captain?” Cam perked up instantly when he heard Ellie’s voice suddenly echo through the rock. “You guys doing alright in there?”</p><p>“Having the time of our lives.” Hiram responded, taking another long drink.</p><p>“Hmm, I can tell. Luckily for you two, our collective intellect has come up with a brilliant solution to get you out of there.”</p><p>Cam didn’t trust the tone of her voice, cautious as he coaxed her to go on.</p><p>“Well, what better way is there to get through rock than with a drill? Specifically one of the very large mining drills they have all over the planet.”</p><p>“Wait, you’re doing what? And who’s paying for this?”</p><p>It was Max’s even voice that answered. “Well captain, it would be used to save you personally. So it would only make sense to use your savings. Although as your crew we have decided collectively to donate some of our own personal funds to the cause, so you are welcome for that.”</p><p>Cam sighed, his voice low and dark. “I can’t believe that buying a mining drill is the best you all could come up with. Are you sure there isn’t an alternate path somewhere down here?”</p><p>“There could be, but that whole cave system is set up like a maze. Any path you go down in that cave is just as liable to take you further in the planet where you’ll wind up in a volcano or some shit.” Nyoka answered before changing the subject back. “And to be fair it wasn’t the only idea we had.”</p><p>“Yeah boss, I had the idea to get the Unreliable outfitted with a plasma cannon so we could just blast you out,” Felix’s excited voice floated through the rock. “But ADA kind of shot that down cause apparently ship gun targeting isn’t sensitive enough and we’d have like an 87% chance of evaporating you along with the rock. So it was back to the drawing board when Parvati thought of the mining equipment. Same idea, way easier to control.”</p><p>“Well I for one appreciate the plan that doesn’t turn me into ash so thank you Parvati.”</p><p>“Uh, no problem, Mr. Broker. Plus I bet since the mining has been defunct for a few years here that you could get a good price on a drill. Even without the captain’s negotiating skills haggling us a better price.”</p><p>“Negotiating skills?” Hiram mouthed, eyebrow raised in interest. Cam made a show of crossing his arms, muscles bunching beneath his shirt, the bulk of his physique on intimidating display. Then he dropped his arms and Cam shrugged, nonchalant. “Something about me makes people want to give me discounts.”</p><p>Hiram gave a short snort of laughter, shaking his head. “Brute.”</p><p>Parvati’s voice rang out again, hesitant. “Are you going to be fine in there by yourselves? I really have no idea how long it’ll take to not only locate a drill but to convince whoever owns it to sell it to us.”</p><p>“We’ll be fine, we have a good supply of food and drinks and so far I haven’t seen a single creature in here.” Cam gave another once over of the cave, but couldn’t spot any of the tell-tale mantisaur nests, the cavern appearing to be empty beyond himself and Hiram.</p><p>“Well alright. Just um, sit tight then.”</p><p>…</p><p>As dusk settled over the caverns the air turned colder, the dry stale air reminding Cam of a broken fridge. A chill went down his spine as he pissed at the edge of the yawning darkness at the back of the cave, the fathomless depths giving him a spin of vertigo before he turned back to Hiram and their little make-shift camp.</p><p>Hiram watched Cam return, his knees pulled up under his chin, his body hunched against the growing chill.</p><p>“Yet another reason to stay inside my tower; I’m not built for these temperatures.” Hiram was complaining again, but the protest was grumbled good-naturedly, more out of something to say than to intend it as a real complaint.</p><p>Cam laughed a little under his breath. “Then you’re in for a long night. Especially if you don’t have one of these.” And Cam dug to the bottom of his bag for his bedroll, kicking away some of the larger rocks before smoothing it onto the cave floor.</p><p>“Well I don’t and it’s freezing in here, so I expect you to share.” Hiram had his arms crossed, looking a bit petulant, and Cam couldn’t help the huff of laughter that snuck out of him.</p><p>“If you’d packed some emergency supplies instead of wine you would have been better prepared, you know.”</p><p>Hiram scoffed and shrugged. “Second time you’ve complained yet you still drank your share, you hypocrite.”</p><p>“Fair enough, since you shared so will I.” Cam tossed an emergency blanket onto the bedroll and wadded up his jacket to put behind his head. “I don’t sleep in my armor though, if that bothers you.”</p><p>“You could sleep naked for all I care, as long as you share some warmth.”</p><p>Cam raised his brow and unbuckled his belt. “Well you are in luck then.”</p><p>Hiram rolled his eyes then kicked off his boots, crawling beneath the blanket to wait for Cam to finish undressing. Despite his words, Cam kept his boxers on as he sprawled out on the bedroll beside Hiram, tugging the blanket over both their shoulders.</p><p>...</p><p>The cave was pitch black when Cam woke, the vast darkness disorienting and overwhelming. Once again he wished that there had been materials to make a fire; at this point in the night the only light in the cave was from the moon and stars that spilled in through the cracks, and the drafts from the cave sent chills down his spine. Cam wondered idly if Hiram was faring worse.</p><p>Cam shifted, feeling the hot press of Hiram’s body close to his, completely curled against Cam’s chest and stomach, their hips wedged together and legs tangled close.</p><p>Cam hadn’t realized how close they’d cuddled in the night and felt the warm surge of blood rush to his cock when he felt the swell of Hiram’s ass fully in his lap. For as much as he bitched about Hiram, he couldn’t deny he was drawn to him, and to have his body curved and butted against him made the gears turn in Cam’s gut, his body warming and tightening. He got hard, unable to tamp down on the dark heady feeling traveling down his spine and curling between his thighs.</p><p>Cam stayed still, breathing deeply and willing away the heavy feeling of want, hoping Hiram wouldn’t wake up pissed, when Hiram surprised him by inching closer still. It was impossible for Hiram not to feel Cam’s cock pressed against his ass or the way he held his breath, unnaturally still. Then Hiram shifted again, mumbling a soft sleepy sound as his hips searched for friction, his actions obvious to anyone with eyes and a sex drive.</p><p>Cam gave a shaky exhale and let his instincts take over; he slid a broad hand under the blanket and over Hiram’s hip, taking another deep breath before running his fingers over the tented fabric of Hiram’s shorts, hand heavy as he wrapped it around Hiram’s cock.</p><p>Hiram awoke fully with a gasp, his hand dropping to grip Cam’s fingers tighter around his cock, whining at being trapped between Cam’s crotch and fist. “Fuck, I—”</p><p>Cam kept his grip tight as he moved his hand, and Hiram broke off with another gasp, his head lolled bonelessly, back arching further against Cam’s body.</p><p>Cam grinned against the darkness, moving his hand to rub Hiram’s thigh, the skin soft and warm beneath his fingers. His voice was low and dark, breathy as he spoke against Hiram’s ear. “You that desperate for a fuck? You were grinding on my dick like you need it in you.”</p><p>Hiram’s pinched voice was offended when he answered. “I don’t need… I’m not desperate.”</p><p>Cam sighed low, more a frustrated growl. “Don’t take it the wrong way. My dick’s hard, too.” To illustrate his point Cam rut hard against Hiram, holding their hips flush. Hiram let him, relaxing back into Cam’s embrace.</p><p>“I wasn’t aware you saw me that way,” Hiram said tentatively.</p><p>“Well I’m not blind, I’ve been looking your way since we met.”</p><p>And Hiram let out a soft little ‘oh’ before he turned toward Cam, closing the distance between their lips. He kissed with his whole body, a leg thrown over Cam’s hip and his fingers sneaking up the back of Cam’s neck to grip his hair. Cam hadn’t expected it, but he let himself melt into Hiram’s touch, hand cupping his ass to force their bodies back together.</p><p>They kissed like teenagers, fumbling blindly in the dark, breath hot and fingertips exploring. Cam knew he was leaving marks on Hiram’s skin every time he lowered his mouth to nip and suck at the tender skin of his throat, but the heat burning through his veins desperately kept him from caring. Each time he sucked at his skin and licked the sting from the bruise a soft moan rumbled deep in Hiram’s chest and Cam’s cock pulsed impatiently at the sound.</p><p>Cam pulled Hiram close, his hands running down the smooth skin of Hiram’s back, fingertips rising and dipping along the ridges of his spine, then dropping to slide below his waistband and slowly along the cleft of his ass.</p><p>“Do you have anything that’ll work?” Hiram asked almost breathlessly, his voice low and cautious.</p><p>“I’m sure I can find something.” Cam sat up reaching for his bag, unzipping the front pocket where tubes and vials and injectors spilled out haphazardly. Cam squinted at the lettering of a few before picking a winner and settling down back at Hiram’s side. “It’s for open wounds. So I assume it won’t hurt you if it ends up inside you.”</p><p>“Well anything sounds better than the gear grease I have in my bag.”</p><p>Cam slicked his fingers, the cream cold against his skin as he pressed inside Hiram, swallowing up any complaints as he kissed him again and again. Hiram squirmed and gasped beneath his touch, whining as Cam buried his fingers to the knuckle and curled them.</p><p>“Fuck,” Hiram broke away panting, his face turned against Cam’s neck. “That feels good but it’s freezing cold.”</p><p>“I’ll do my best to warm you.” Then Cam was pulling Hiram to his hands and knees, kneeling behind him as he slicked himself with more of the cream. And Hiram was right; it was cold, like a drink of ice water after chewing something mint. But it was too late to try to find anything different so Cam simply lined himself up and pressed forward, fucking into Hiram as gently and as deeply as he could manage.</p><p>Cam’s fingers gripped hard against the curve of Hiram’s hips, breathless over how hot and tight Hiram felt stretched around his cock. Hiram moaned as Cam began to move, dropping to his elbows and arching his body and spreading his legs further for Cam.</p><p>Hiram was panting, groaning when his forearms scraped against the grit and stone of the cavern floor as Cam fucked into him. He had lost the ability to articulate, vocabulary deteriorating to curses and Cam’s name, filthy and desperate as it passed his open lips.</p><p>Cam loved hearing Hiram’s voice, desperate and wrecked, he felt the pressure mounting deep inside him, that base instinctual need to come deep in Hiram fogging up his thoughts. He pulled away to temper the rising need, flipping Hiram to land heavily on his shoulders, and pulled Hiram’s thighs up to rest over his hips as he slid back inside, his hand dropping down to grip Hiram’s neglected cock.</p><p>Hiram’s voice degraded into panting gasps, his chest hitching as he suddenly came from one last punishing buck of Cam’s hips, spilling over Cam’s fingers and his own abdomen. Cam smeared come over Hiram’s hip as he moved to grip him again fully, fucking him desperately as he chased his own release. A few solid thrusts buried him deep in Hiram and he came hard surrounded by the tight heat, his low moan echoing further down the cave.</p><p>“Fuck,” Cam breathed, staring down at Hiram stretched out against his body, his chest heaving, lips fallen open as he panted for air. Cam hunched over, dragging his tongue along Hiram’s stomach, through the drops of come, up his chest, his neck, and finally kissing him, taking away whatever breath Hiram had managed to catch. Then Hiram’s hands were in his hair, on his jaw, and the kiss felt almost tender with Hiram’s legs soft around Cam’s waist and his cock still buried deep and twitching in Hiram’s insides.</p><p>Cam broke the kiss for air, sliding from Hiram’s body at the same time, a chill rolling down his back as he pulled away from the warmth. Hiram slid his legs away automatically, curling up against the cold on the bedroll.</p><p>“So, you okay?” Cam cleared his throat, running his fingers through the sweat damp hair that had fallen in his eyes.</p><p>“I’ll survive.” Hiram said, rolling his head to meet Cam’s gaze. “That cream, ugh it feels like my ass smoked a pack of menthols.”</p><p>Cam choked out a surprised laugh, shaking his head. “The shit you come up with.” Cam leaned over to his pack, turning on his flashlight to dig in a side pocket and pull out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Speaking of,” he offered Hiram one, lighting it for him before lighting his own.</p><p>The smoke curled lazily upwards in the still air of the cave. Cam watched Hiram out of the corner of his eye, trying not to make it obvious that he was staring in the low light. Hiram was leaned back, held up by a palm, one leg stretched and one bent. He looked a mess to Cam: hair out of place, tan skin sweaty and streaked with cream and dirt, smeared come cooling between his thighs. With the cherry of the cigarette burning close to his lips and his eyes heavy and satisfied, Hiram looked completely fucked out and Cam could admit he’d never been more attracted to someone in his life.</p><p>When Hiram flicked the butt away forgotten in a corner Cam leaned close, kissing Hiram and stealing away his breath, mouth hot as fire and tasting like ash and wine and come.</p><p>Hiram gasped into the kiss, linking his arms around Cam’s neck as Cam licked past his lips, his fingers gripping the meat of Hiram’s thigh hard enough to bruise.</p><p>“If you’re looking for round two you’ll have to give me a few minutes.” Hiram breathed, his hands buried in Cam’s sandy locks.</p><p>Cam laughed indulgently before mumbling against Hiram’s skin, fingers drifting up his arm. “Well if I know my crew I’d wager we have the rest of the night.”</p><p>...</p><p>Cam woke with a start to the sound of machinery echoing through the cavern, the shrill scrape of metal boring through rock resonating in his ears. He sat up to rub at his eyes and face, Hiram waking next to him.</p><p>“Sounds like they located a drill.” Hiram pointed out the obvious as he felt around for his clothes; Cam watched out of the corner of his eye, taking note in the daylight of the marks and bruises he’d left littered over Hiram’s skin. “Our salvation is at hand.”</p><p>“At what cost?” Cam mumbled, rising to his feet to stretch out the aches from sleeping on the hard ground.</p><p>The two dressed quickly, unable to hear one another as the sounds of the drill echoed and reverberated loudly throughout the cavern. They cleared their camp away from the entrance where pebbles and stones were already shaking loose, waiting against the cave wall as the drill bored deeper through the solid rock.</p><p>It took longer to break through than Cam expected, then longer still to widen the hole and clear away rubble; the sun had climbed high in the sky when Cam finally emerged and took in a big lungful of stinking sulfur air.</p><p>Nyoka looked relieved, patting both Cam and Hiram on the shoulder. “I thought for sure that if the quake didn’t kill you, the two of you being stuck together in a cave all night would have done the job; good to see you two made it out unscathed.” Her voice trailed on the last word as her eyes dropped to Hiram’s neck where his collar didn’t quite go high enough. She closed her mouth though, keeping whatever she thought she knew to herself.</p><p>“Well you have my gratitude for getting us out because that was an ordeal. But since we’re so close we might as well finish what we set out to do and find my satellite.” Hiram patted at his pockets until he found the tracking device, holding it up to study it for a moment. “Just over that hill, promise. Damn, we were close before the quake.”</p><p>Cam groaned in complaint but hefted his pack and started up the hill.</p><p>“I should really start charging you double. C’mon Nyoka, you’re going to suffer, too. Everyone else can head back to the Unreliable. We’ll be back when we’re back.” Cam gave the cooling drill a critical look. “Leave it for now, I’ll figure out what I want to do with that later when I’m not so ungodly pissed off about the fact that I own it.”</p><p>There was a chorus of ‘yes, captains’ before the two groups split. And to Hiram’s credit, the satellite was just over the next hill, crumpled and still smoking in a furrow carved along the surface.</p><p>“Well isn’t this some shit.” Hiram grumbled as he dropped to his knees beside the towering hunk of metal and unzipped his bag, pulling out several tools so he could begin his work. Nyoka watched as he popped open a dented hatch at the bottom then shrugged and sunk to the ground, getting comfortable with a panoramic view and a flask fished from one of her pockets. Cam watched and waited, hand laid over the stock of his rifle and a bent cigarette stuck between his lips.</p><p>“So is it salvageable?”</p><p>“There’s more than I thought there’d be. The drive holding the data cracked but with some luck I’ll still be able to recover the information.” Hiram looked up to give Cam a genuine grin, a shiny smear of grease swiped across his cheek. “I won’t be much longer.”</p><p>“Good, because I am beat. We spent all night searching for that damn drill. As soon as I get back to the Unreliable I’m passing out for the next twelve hours.”</p><p>Hiram dug a few more components out of the satellite’s guts before packing away his tools, wrapping the salvaged parts before tucking them away in his bag as well. He stood and hefted his pack over his shoulder, giving Cam and Nyoka an expectant look.</p><p>“Well I’m done. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”</p><p>…</p><p>The trip to the tower took much less time on the return. They spied a mantiqueen and her brood stalking around one of the lower caves, but avoided her easily, the rest of the hike uneventful. Cam and Nyoka accompanied Hiram to the tower entrance, the sun low in the sky as they finally completed their task.</p><p>Hiram unlocked the door to the tower, setting his bag down to prop the door open as he turned to face Cam and Nyoka.</p><p>“Well. I’ve certainly reached my limit on being outside. In fact I’ve probably hit my quota for the year.”</p><p>“Aw I’m sure it wasn’t all bad.” Nyoka’s tone was playful and sly and the knowing look she shot in Hiram’s direction was damning. “Besides it could have been much worse, I noticed you got a few bruises from that quake. All right around the neck. Real lucky that didn’t kill ya.”</p><p>Hiram didn’t rise to the bait; simply shoving his bag further inside with the back of his foot and retreating slowly back into the shadows, giving Nyoka a half-assed wave goodbye.</p><p>Cam caught the door before it shut, eyes on Hiram before he could disappear back into his lair. “And my pay?”</p><p>“Right. It’s upstairs.” Hiram hesitated a moment and Cam could see him bite his lower lip, a spark igniting in his amber eyes. “You can come up to get it.”</p><p>Cam cleared his throat, giving Nyoka a quick look, hoping she hadn’t noticed the heavy shift in the air between them.</p><p>“You can go on ahead, I’ll be back to the ship soon. Go get an early start on your, uh, nap.”</p><p>Cam didn’t wait to see the eye roll or grimace that passed over Nyoka’s face; the door slammed shut behind him and he had Hiram against the wall, his hands on his hips and his tongue down his throat. After a few moments Hiram pulled away breathlessly, tugging on Cam’s arm to lead him further into the tower.</p><p>“Let’s get cleaned up first. I think I’ve lost count of how many different fluids are on me.”</p><p>Cam let out a disgusted laugh as he followed Hiram’s lead.</p><p>…</p><p>Cam sighed as he stepped under the spray, the water blessedly hot as it washed away the evidence of their hike and their night in the cave. Hiram leaned against the wall watching, hair slicked back and water running in lazy rivulets down his skin.</p><p>“So you’re just going to shower, huh?”</p><p>“No, just give me a minute first. Have you ever shared a single bathroom with five other people before? I’d almost forgotten what hot water feels like.”</p><p>Hiram laughed under his breath and leaned forward, his fingers sliding up Cam’s abdomen. “No I can’t say that I have. One of the many, many perks of living alone.”</p><p>Cam reached out, pulling Hiram against him. “Lucky. I even had the idea to take my showers in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep but apparently that’s when SAM does his dishwashing sequence.”</p><p>Hiram laughed again, winding himself around Cam and burying his fingers in the wet blonde locks. “You can’t win.”</p><p>“Story of my life,” Cam mumbled as he pressed Hiram against the tile and covered his lips with his own.</p><p>…</p><p>They barely made it back to Hiram’s bed before Cam was in him again, Hiram’s thighs thrown over his own, his back arched and lips open in an inaudible moan. Cam’s hands wrapped around the knobs of Hiram’s hips, pulling their bodies together as roughly as he dared, Hiram’s hands scrabbling for purchase on the sheets as Cam fucked him hard into the mattress. Cam looked at the map of marks and bruises he’d left on Hiram’s skin, feeling deeply possessive and hating it because he couldn’t feel that way about anyone right now, couldn’t let himself be distracted even if it was Hiram; beautiful, sarcastic, independent Hiram, who Cam had found wedged in his thoughts since he’d first heard his voice over the broadcast tower’s speakers.</p><p>Cam wanted, then growled and fucked harder, because he <i>wanted</i> but he couldn’t <i>have</i>.</p><p>…</p><p>“You can stay the night if you want,” Hiram offered, looking up at Cam from where he was half smothered against a pillow. “It wouldn’t bother me.”</p><p>Cam looked over, squashing down the troubling feeling still brewing in his gut before he agreed; settling among the sheets as Hiram’s hand slowly trailed down his arm and laced their fingers together tight.</p><p>…</p><p>The sun already hung high in the sky when Cam woke, still in Hiram’s bed, Hiram’s arm thrown over his chest. The sinking feeling came again that perhaps staying like this hadn’t been a good idea, that he had let his emotions overrule his sensible side. He couldn’t do this, even if he wanted to.</p><p>Cam was already pulling on pants when Hiram’s voice broke the silence, low and neutral behind him.</p><p>“What’s this going to be, captain.” Hiram was still stretched out on the sheets, unable to make his eyes raise to meet Cam’s. “I’m not interested in just being your warm body on Monarch.”</p><p>“You wouldn’t,” Cam trailed off, as another thought occurred to him. “You make it sound like there are others on other settlements.”</p><p>“I guess I assumed. You hear the stories, dashing captain traveling from world to world…” Hiram trailed off with a bleak shrug.</p><p>“You assumed wrong.” Cam said, voice low and gruff. “I thought all your <i>information</i> would have told you I’ve been fucking busy not busy fucking.”</p><p>“I didn’t—” Hiram sighed sitting up and pulling the sheets around his nakedness. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed. Maybe it just surprises me that you don’t have someone else waiting for you.”</p><p>“Well I don’t.” Cam took a deep breath, trying to control the flash of indignation that had crashed through his barriers. “After being unfrozen I got dropped in a huge pile of shit that I’m expected to clean up all while dealing with the fact everyone I’ve ever known is dead and for some reason the fate of this colony rests entirely on my shoulders. Haven’t exactly had time to fuck around.”</p><p>“Sorry.” He waited a moment, eyes still downcast. “So is this just fucking around to you?”</p><p>“Yes. No. I don’t know. You know I can’t make any guarantees, shit I could die tomorrow. If I keep working with Phineas I’m going to find myself on the wrong side of the Board, plus I’ve pissed off enough people that my face is ‘shoot on sight’ to a couple factions. I mean, I can’t make promises when I’m just living day to day.”</p><p>Hiram bit his lip, holding back whatever it was that he really wanted to say. Finally he sighed, gaze hardened. “I understand. I believe I got the wrong impression.”</p><p>Cam felt the tendrils of guilt clawing up his throat; not wanting to hear the truth from Hiram’s lips but unable to help but ask what impression Hiram had.</p><p>“That this would be something more than a night or two thing. I doubt it would surprise you to find out I don’t do…this.” He gestured vaguely at the crumpled sheets covering him. “I don’t like or trust anyone enough to let them touch me.”</p><p>There were a few beats of silence before Cam responded. “Then why did you let me?”</p><p>Hiram shrugged half-heartedly, fingers picking absently at the sheets. “I’m questioning that now as well. Ugh, my reasons sound like one of those shitty romance serials. I suppose I thought you were different. I liked you; it’s as simple as that.”</p><p>Cam sighed, feeling like he'd taken a hammer swing to the chest. “I’m not saying I don’t like—I just have a lot on my mind. I don’t want to disappoint you as well as everyone else if I fucking keel over.”</p><p>“I think I’d feel something a little stronger than disappointment if you died.”</p><p>Cam felt like he was going around in circles. The two sides inside him warred, one fighting against the complication of having Hiram in his life, the fear of having one more person depend on him; the other desiring the stability Hiram offered, the thought of having someone to care about and depend on as the colony crumbled around him.</p><p>Cam finished dressing, kneeling down on the mattress and taking Hiram’s chin in his hand to tilt his face up.</p><p>“I didn't set out to make this a one-time thing... And there’s a reason there’s no one else on the other planets; because I don’t just sleep around either. But it was different with you.” Cam felt his stuttering explanation was lacking; with Hiram’s eyes tilted upward he could see the wavering doubt in the amber depths. “Fuck, I’m sorry; I just have to get all the shit in my life figured out before I can concentrate on whatever this is.”</p><p>“Sounds like a cop out, captain.” And he was hurt and disappointed and it was Cam's fault.</p><p>“Maybe but it’s the best I can offer right now.”</p><p>Hiram didn’t answer, nor did he turn his head when Cam gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, not sure how to salvage his fuck up. So he did what he always did and ran.</p><p>…</p><p>Nyoka gave Cam a knowing look when they crossed paths after his return to the Unreliable, although she neglected to say anything of note, concentrating more on the bowl of cereal and bottle of vodka set in front of her on the kitchen counter. Cam didn’t question it, resuming his path to the navigation room.</p><p>“Welcome back, captain. I was worried when you didn’t return with the rest of the crew after completing your mission.”</p><p>“I had my reasons. I doubt you missed me that much.”</p><p>“The crew is incomplete without you on board.”</p><p>Cam guessed that was one of ADA’s almost compliments and let the conversation rest, changing the subject.</p><p>“I need you to move the ship to these coordinates, then I think I’ve had enough of this planet for a while.”</p><p>“Of course, captain.”</p><p>Cam leaned back and watched out the window for a few moments as the Unreliable took flight, the scenery below passing in a blur. He then left ADA to pilot, crossing the ship to the bottom deck, interrupting Ellie and Parvati from the card game dealt between them on Parvati’s bunk.</p><p>“Well, we ready to head out? I am sick of this planet. No matter how hard I scrub I think my skin still smells like sulfur.” Ellie turned her nose against her collar before crinkling it and scowling, not liking what she’d found.</p><p>“Yeah,” Cam sighed, waiting until he felt the ship land and settle before he hit the loading deck button, the ship chirping an alarm as the bay doors opened to the surface. “One last thing though.”</p><p>…</p><p>Somehow they had fit the drill onto the loading deck, the contraption almost impossible to maneuver around when climbing the ladders to engineering and the crew quarters. It was the elephant in the room each time a different member of his crew tried to tiptoe around it. Cam was hunched over his workbench, trying to ignore the machinery looming over his back.</p><p>“So why didn’t we just leave this hunk of junk on Monarch?” Ellie finally asked, breaking the silence and toeing at the drill bit before turning her gaze to Cam. “I’m really hoping that no one else is going to need to be dug out of the ground on our little adventure.”</p><p>“It’s mine. I bought it.” Cam still hadn’t recovered from his ordeal, sitting in silent reflection as he stared at the unsightly machinery and being possessively frugal with his last few hundred bits.</p><p>“You purchased this drill?” ADAs voice was puzzled over the comm. “I believe you can rent HCC drilling equipment for a fraction of the price of buying one. You just needed to contact their main office by message.”</p><p>It felt and sounded like all the air had been vacuumed from the room. When Cam looked up he realized that the sound was simply every other soul within a hundred foot radius of him escaping the deck in a hurry. Cam put down his work, body unnaturally calm as he rose and left the loading bay, heading toward his room.</p><p>“ADA I’d rather not be bothered for a while.”</p><p>“Apologies, captain, but Dr. Welles is contacting the ship, would you like me to accept his call or take a message and ask him to try again later?”</p><p>Cam groaned at the timing. “Accept it. Maybe whatever he asks for will take my mind off things.”</p><p>“Of course, captain.”</p><p>…</p><p>The interior of The Hope was eerie, like walking into a tomb. Cam, Ellie, and Nyoka did their best to avoid the sentries and guards littered around the ship, keeping to the vents and shadows as they made their way to the navigation room. The pieces of the puzzle of what had doomed The Hope became more apparent in each room they searched, the bloody history revealing itself bit by bit.</p><p>Breathing became more difficult as Cam found and read the notes and journals and warnings littered around The Hope. As he discovered the blood trails and bodies. As he realized how close the crew had come to possibly dooming the entire colony by eating the wrong fucking person. Cam felt sick, felt some existential dread that he could have been eaten, all the problems he had fled from on earth simply propelling him to a much more disturbing death amongst the stars.</p><p>How many times had he nearly avoided death since being unfrozen? The number was alarmingly high, and the near misses seemed to have started before he was even conscious. It left a gnawing feeling in his gut and for not the first time Cam hated that the responsibility for so many lives in the colony had been dropped on his shoulders.</p><p>He stood stiffly, staring out over the countless pods long enough that Ellie tapped his shoulder to get his attention.</p><p>“Not gonna lie, this place is giving me the heebie-jeebies. Can we get this show on the road? If we end up ramming this thing into a planet I’d prefer to get it over and done with rather than after hours of quiet contemplation about cannibal scientists.”</p><p>Cam grunted in answer but did as she asked, managing to hook Ada into the mainframe, leaving everything up to her as she argued with The Hope’s AI over the new course.</p><p>After that everything seemed to happen too fast, the skip was successful, but upon returning to Phineas’ lab the crew discovered he’s been arrested and imprisoned in Tartarus and that breaking him out would be an almost impossible undertaking as well.</p><p>It would be an understatement to say Cam was frustrated. He was furious, spending more time with his weights and punching bag than he had in months, pushing his body to exhaustion to distract himself from the thoughts and worries and doubts swimming in his brain. The crew had taken pains to avoid him, going to the extent of drawing straws to see who would accompany him on the few missions he decided needed wrapping up before they stormed the prison.</p><p>The night before they left for Tartarus the interior of the Unreliable felt like a rubber band about to snap, tensions and nerves tight and worn thin. Cam kept to his room, restless and agitated, just wanting the entire fiasco his life had spiraled into to be over.</p><p>“No offense, cap, but you’ve been a real prick lately. And let’s not mince words; we both know it has to do with a certain grumpy recluse.”</p><p>Cam looked over to see Nyoka hovering at the entrance to his room, her arms crossed and her lips pursed to the side in thought.</p><p>“How much will it cost me for us to not have this conversation right now?”</p><p>“More than you have.” Nyoka strode in, leaning against the frame of his bed. “Besides, I think it’d do you some good to talk this out. You’ve been out of sorts for weeks and there are only so many places on this ship to hide from you so I’m falling on this landmine for everybody’s sake.”</p><p>Cam stared, less than impressed, then sighed. “Say what you’re going to say then.”</p><p>“I just want to know why you’re denying what happened on Monarch. I’m a grown ass woman; I know what happens when my captain stays out all night. And honestly I don’t care, I’d be happy for you if it had made you happy, but instead you’re just, I don’t know, real fuckin’ angry all the time. Even more than before, which is honestly impressive. I guess I just want to know why you’re avoiding Hiram and taking it out on the rest of us.”</p><p>Cam threw up the same walls as usual, the same excuses he had practiced in his mind for his crew. “Because I don’t have time for anything that isn’t bringing me closer to finding an answer of how to save this colony. You saw what it was like on The Hope, what people turn to when they’re that desperately hungry. If I don’t figure this shit out, that’s the fate of this entire solar system.”</p><p>Cam felt the slow burning panic in his voice. “I already get sent on ridiculous errands and busy work for just about every person I meet, time will run out if I’m not careful and I need to do what everyone else wants to get me closer to an answer of how to fix this.”</p><p>“Yeah, but what about what you want cap? You like him. And don’t give me any of that bullshit saying you don’t, ‘cause I can see right through you. And he must like you too or I doubt he would’ve slept with you that easily. Which is honestly throwing me for a loop because in all the time I’ve known him I’ve gotten a serious virgin vibe from him.” Nyoka narrowed her eyes in contemplation as she got off track. “He wasn’t was he..?”</p><p>Cam gave her a hard look, neglecting to dignify her with an answer.</p><p>“Alright fine, you don’t kiss and tell. My point is: saving the colony got thrown on your lap. You didn’t want the job and you didn’t volunteer, but you have it nonetheless. And it’s the sort of job where no one will thank you if you do it right, but they will blame you if you do it wrong. So yes, I understand that there’s a timer ticking down out there, but with all that pressure on you, it’s perfectly fine to say ‘fuck you’ every now and then and take something you want for yourself. Even if that’s Hiram.” Nyoka pulled a face and drifted back toward the door. “I will never get used to that.”</p><p>“Thanks for the talk, Nyoka, I’m sure you can find your own way out.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. Think on what I said. I'm not usually wrong about this sort of thing.” She waved a hand dismissively before walking out the door, her heavy boots signaling her retreat upstairs.</p><p>Not two minutes later there was another soft knock on the doorframe, Parvati’s voice gentle and questioning as she waited at the threshold. “Captain? Mind if we talk for a bit?”</p><p>Cam heaved a sigh. “Why not? Nyoka’s already been through; send the rest of the crew by as well when we’re done.” Cam spun his chair to watch Parvati step into the room, soft frown dragging down the corners of her mouth.</p><p>“I may not have known you very long, captain, but I’d like to think I can tell when something has you down.  And I know you’re planning on breaking out the Doctor from prison and the consequences of that has me worried too, but it’s more than that isn’t it? That’s not what’s had you stressed since the last time we left Monarch.”</p><p>Cam crossed his arms, not meeting Parvati’s gaze. “If you already know, spit it out.”</p><p>Parvati shifted her weight from foot to foot, nibbling the inside of her lip. “Well that night after getting you out of the cave, when you spent the night off ship, Nyoka might have mentioned that she thought you and Mister Hiram—” She broke off when Cam looked up sharply. “I told her not to gossip but, well, as inexperienced in these matters as I am, even I can see when all the pieces of a puzzle fall together. It just makes me wonder why if you’re this upset without him…why not try doing the opposite?”</p><p>Cam stared, brow raised and silent and Parvati stuttered a bit before pressing forward. “I’m sorry if I’m being too presumptuous, but you helped me and I wanted to return the favor.”</p><p>Cam sighed and decided to throw her a bone to cut through the heavy air of good-intentioned awkwardness. “I think if it was up to him that’s what we’d do. He made that pretty clear before I left.”</p><p>“Then what’s the problem?”</p><p>Cam looked at her for a long moment, deciding how much he wanted to say. Parvati looked back, big eyes gentle and genuine and curious. With a sigh he settled on a version of the truth. “I can’t guarantee I’ll survive any of this. I don’t want to get in too deep and dream up some happy life for us for it all to go belly-up if I take a stray bullet or if we can’t fix the food problem and everyone starves to death. What’s the point if there’s an expiration date on everyone?”</p><p>Parvati looked at him sadly and Cam thought that was the reason he didn’t open up to people, he never wanted the pity that came along with it.</p><p>“Begging your pardon, captain, but every one of us already does have an expiration date. So that’s why you need to take the good when you find it. Like, when I’m out here with you, I know that means danger and so does Junlei, but she has faith in me, has faith I’ll come back.” Parvati sighed, but it was dreamy, her sad look perking up. “And that makes being out here trying to save the world worth it. Sure I’m scared that things won’t go right, but now that I know what it feels like to be in love and be loved in return, I’m more afraid of losing that. You say you can’t guarantee a future but no one else can either and that shouldn’t hold you back.”</p><p>Parvati took a few steps back toward the door, scuffing her feet along the rug. “Sorry if all this is unwarranted, but you’re a good man, captain, and I don’t like to see you unhappy. Plus everyone's complaining because you've been a real stick in the mud lately.”</p><p>“Its fine,” Cam began, leaning forward in his chair to rest his elbows on his knees. “If you don’t mind I need some time to myself.”</p><p>“Of course.” Parvati hesitated a moment, hand on the doorframe. “You weren’t being serious about sending in the rest of the crew to talk, right?”</p><p>“Fuck no.”</p><p>“Right, of course.” She slipped away quietly, leaving Cam to ponder his actions by himself. He sat in silence for a few moments, letting Parvati’s words sink in. She was right, Nyoka was right, Hiram was right, hell, probably even SAM had opinions on his love-life that made more sense than Cam had for the past few weeks.</p><p>“Fuck.” Cam pushed himself up and out of his chair, almost running straight into Felix on the stairs as he left his room.</p><p>“Oh hey boss, if you got a minute I thought we could talk—”</p><p>“Nyoka and Parvati beat you to the punch. You can do me a favor though and tell the crew we’re making a pit stop on Monarch before we hit Tartarus.”</p><p>Felix nodded; looking rather relieved at the prospect of not needing to have a heart to heart with Cam. “Can do, sir.”</p><p>Cam called back his thanks as he continued down the stairs to the navigation room.</p><p>…</p><p>Cam hesitated as he approached the broadcast tower, nervous in a way he couldn’t remember ever being before. Cam hadn’t warned Hiram that he was on his way, and his gut churned at the thought that he had ruined this thing between them before it had even really started. His own stupidity and recklessness had gotten him in trouble many, many times before and he had always solved his problems by running away. As he reached the door he thought this was one of the few times he had ever returned to face a problem that he had caused himself head on.</p><p>Cam leaned on the comm, waiting for Hiram to answer. The responding voice was brisk, sharp, and busy as usual, static as it came through the speaker.</p><p>“Yes, what it is?”</p><p>“Can we talk?” Even Cam thought his own voice sounded tired and worried and he wondered absently what was going through Hiram’s head after weeks of radio silence.</p><p>“Cam? What are you… just a minute.”</p><p>A few moments later Hiram opened the door, confusion on his face. “I heard you were on your way to Tartarus, why are you —”</p><p>Hiram didn’t finish the thought; Cam pushed inside and pressed Hiram against the wall, the door slamming shut to leave them shrouded in shadows from the dim lights. Cam’s lips found Hiram’s, his tongue insistent as he pressed inside. A hand found Hiram’s hip and gripped tight, the other holding up his weight as he leaned into Hiram’s space. Hiram had automatically thrown his arms around Cam’s shoulders, his fingertips pressing deep against the back of Cam’s neck.</p><p>“I made a mistake. I need you.” Cam pulled away to say, voice low and about as emotional as he could manage.</p><p>Cam knew the explanation wasn’t enough, the sudden appearance wasn’t enough, but he hoped it could be a start on making up for before, a beginning to the apology he hoped Hiram would let him make in full.</p><p>Hiram sucked in a breath, maybe the confession surprised him, or maybe Cam’s appearance so long after their last conversation surprised him. Maybe he was still pissed. But he hadn’t pushed Cam back out the door so maybe this was a step in the right direction, toward something they both needed and that they could have once Cam stopped acting like a jackass.</p><p>Hiram exhaled that breath in a sigh and let his fingers slide down Cam’s arm until they curled around his palm, soft against hard.</p><p>“And you have me.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cam stared down the scope of his rifle, waiting for the raptidon at the base of the hill to halt its movement. As it lowered its nose and pawed at something in the dirt a shot echoed down the mountainside, the beast dropping dead where it stood. With a satisfied grin, Cam set the gun down, surveying the damage: a half dozen raptidons had seen the wrong end of his rifle today, all belonging to a pack that had been slowly moving up the hill toward the tower over the last two days.  With Cam’s help the pack was now decimated, the survivors scrambling into the caverns for safety.</p><p>Cam heard the slide of the door behind him, Hiram’s voice clear in the warm air as dusk approached.</p><p>“How’s it going? Earn your pay today?”</p><p>Cam scoffed, spinning to face Hiram and leaning to rest his back on the railing, the fading sunlight bathing them both in a ruddy golden glow. “I would have except for the fact you don’t pay me anymore.”</p><p>“I prefer to show my appreciation in more creative ways.” Hiram handed over one of the drinks he’d brought out, something fizzy and fruity and cloying on Cam’s tongue but blessedly cold so he couldn’t complain.</p><p>After taking a long drink Cam pulled Hiram against him, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing a few kisses to the back of his neck. “And that is something you will never hear me complain about.”</p><p>Hiram gave a huff of laughter, resting his head back on Cam’s shoulder. “So Phineas and that crew of hot shot scientists really don’t mind you’ve been here taking care of this infestation the past few days? From the messages I’ve gotten my hands on it looks like they’re close to a break through.”</p><p>Cam shrugged. “You overestimate my importance at the labs. You know I don’t understand any of that shit, I’m a glorified hound sent around the planets to fetch ingredients for them. Anyone can do it.” He paused a moment then smiled against Hiram’s skin. “Which is why I sent Felix to take my place for a few days.”</p><p>Hiram laughed a bit deeper at that, dropping his hand to link his fingers with Cam’s free hand. “I expect I’ll get a message or two from the good Doctor about that.”</p><p>“I have flown back and forth from planet to planet for months for them; they’ll survive without me for a few days. I have far more pressing matters here.” He tightened the arm circled around Hiram’s waist to illustrate his point.</p><p>“And what might those matters be?” Hiram coaxed, his voice low and subtle as he pressed back against Cam.</p><p>“First, dinner. Shooting bastards all day builds up an appetite.”</p><p>“Sensible.”</p><p>“Second, a shower. If you couldn’t tell, I’m filthy.”</p><p>“I could tell.”</p><p>“Third, getting you naked and in bed and keeping you there for the next twenty-four hours.”</p><p>“Best idea you’ve had in months, I’ll wager.”</p><p>“I was due.”</p><p>Hiram yelped as Cam suddenly picked him up, their sodas crashing to the ground to hiss and bubble through the grates forgotten.</p><p>“Careful, you brute.” But Hiram’s voice had gone low and husky and he tucked his face against Cam’s neck, open lips pressed to his throat.</p><p>“You worry too much, I haven’t broken you yet.”</p><p>“Not for lack of trying.” But Hiram’s voice was soft and warm against his neck and his arms tightened around Cam’s shoulders.</p><p>“You know,” Cam began, pressing his lips to the soft dark strands of Hiram’s hair as he changed the subject back. “If they really are close to a break through it might mean I won’t be needed at the lab anymore. It’ll be the first time since being unfrozen that I’ll have some freedom.” Cam hesitated a moment before continuing. “And well, you obviously need someone around to take care of the marauders and beasts that make it up the hill. Maybe I could make this a more…permanent situation.”</p><p>“With brilliant ideas like that I’m surprised those scientists ever let you leave the lab.”</p><p>“I was being serious.” Cam set Hiram down as they reached the door, boxing him in against the metal with his forearms on either side of Hiram’s head, sincere green eyes staring into Hiram’s. “Of all the shitty backwater planets I’ve been on in this system, this one is by far my favorite. I could get used to it, and it would be nice to have somewhere to belong to other than my ship.”</p><p>Hiram returned Cam’s intense gaze for a moment before he tipped Cam’s chin down for a kiss, a grin curling his lips as he pulled away.</p><p>“Who said I wasn’t being serious? Besides, I knew what I was getting into; it’s like taking in a stray, if I bathe and feed you and give you a warm place to sleep, how can I be surprised you want to stay?”</p><p>“You ass.” Cam huffed, pinching at his side, but Hiram laughed and slipped from his grasp, ducking under his arm and turning to open the door. Hiram took a step inside the dimly lit hallway, one arm holding open the door, the other reaching for Cam’s hand, a peace offering.</p><p>“Stay.”</p><p>And Cam didn’t need to be asked twice.</p>
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